1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-functional suppository encapsulator for molding, packing and administering suppositories with the aim of providing suppositories of prolonged stability during storage and without dosage loss and contamination of suppositories and patient-administrator cross-infections when administered.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The pharmaceutical and medical industry conventionally uses four kinds of containers for suppositories. The first kind of which is made of aluminum foil which is not resilient enough to prevent dents caused by accidental crush or depression. Consequently, both the containers and suppositores therein will be deformed to render the suppositories not suitable for use. It is not unusual that sometimes the deformation is so severe that separation of the deformed suppositories from their containers is handicapped, and the suppositories may even split in parts and/or with aluminum foil pinched therein which is quite harmful to the patient.
The second kind of containers is made of thin rigid plastic sheet in two vacuum-formed halves. Said two halves are then sealed by heat to form into a strip-container. Neither to form or seal nor to open such a kind of container is easy, due to excessive bonding between the halves. Usually, it is necessary to cut through the wall of the closed containers with a knife or scissors to get the suppositories therein out, thereby the integrity and smoothness of said suppositories will be destroyed. Furthermore, sometimes due to inadequate bonding the containers may split to expose, drop out or lose suppositories therein before administration. In the latter case the molded-in suppositories always bear fin-like side appendages which generally will cause great irritation and even bleeding in patients with hemorrhoid.
The third kind of containers, made of semi-rigid plastics, usually consists of a body together with a cap covered thereon. To separate a suppository from such a kind of container is a hard thing, especially for those that have undergone heat change process, i.e. melted and resolidified. Moreover, to be packed in such kind of containers, the suppositories should be separately molded in form in a suitable metallic mold, then packed individually by hand manipulation, which is susceptible to contamination and results in high cost.
The fourth kind of containers is made of PE film. Suppositories are first molded in form in suitable molds, then individually packed in a piece of PE film by manual tie-up operation. This kind of containers has the same defects as the third kind. Besides, suppositories packed this way will easily reform into irregular shape when subject to heat change process, and become unusable.
In addition, these conventional types of containers have one more common disadvantage, that is, when used, they have to be held in the administrator's hand before insertion into the patient's anus. Upon contact with the administrator's hand, the suppository begins to melt subject to hand heat, (because the base of suppositories has a melting point below our body temperature), thus renders the suppository slippery and soft, and very unmanageable in administration. Now if the administrator is slow-motioned in operation, the suppository might have melted away quite a portion of its mass before it is put into the patient's body-cavity. This results in subdosage which is unpermissible in pharmaceutical practice. Besides, it is frequently found that the suppository is easily contaminated this way, if the administrator's hand is not clean enough. This in turn causes the patient to be infected by the administrator. Furthermore there is another possibility of cross-infection between patient and administrator, when the patient happens to have some kind of infectious complications such as hepatitis, dysentery, enteritis, . . . etc. and the administrator is the patient's family member and does not wear protective rubber gloves, the administrator is liable to be infected by the patient. One final common drawback with conventional containers is that none of them provides a hermetical reservation package for the contained suppository, and thus air and moisture degradation attack to the contained suppository is unavoidable.